Untouchable -Open-

[-Shade)]

Everything was sighlent, as tiny paws lightly touched the ground. A small arctic fox flew over the ground with light tred. All she was, was a small white blur over the dark ground. Her fur was getting damp from the humidity. The morning mist was collecting in her snowy white fur. Her amber eyes focassed only on the ground ahead of her. A slight breeze blew threw her thick fur. It was beginning to thin out a little as the weather got warmer. Everything seemed to just come alive this time of the year. The birds where out, all the prey was finally out of their winter dens.

Lomasi skidded to a hault at the base of many large trees. Her eyes watched them closely. Like she expected something to jump out and attack her while she stood there. She took a weary step forward looking at the trees with a weary eye. Lomasi took a few more light steps tword the trees. Nothing was coming out, they mist be at least a little bit safe, right? With a few more steps forward, the trees began to surround her, engulfing her in an ocean of leaves and tree trunks. With a swallow, she continued to venture further into the trees.

[Fireh--]

With a few swift leaps and bounds, Marco Polo was at the top of Oak Wreath. Inhaling deeply, that scent of Lomasi was on the wind and he bristled his own bright orange fur. There were a lot of newcomers into Delmares and he wondered if the skulk would finally flourish again. Unable to tell right at this moment whether she was an arctic fox or red fox. He continued into the large oak trees. After this he would inspect the final part of his territory. Soon to be all their territory.

Once they filled up on members, maybe they'd choose him to be their leader. Eventually he would take on a mate and they would be the alpha pair together. Until then he needed to bring in as many members as possible. Large green oak leaves graced the huge sturdy trees. In winter they all fell and lost their colour, coating the ground in a walk way. As he padded slowly through the woods, he sniffed the ground and tried to pick out Lomasi's scent. Wherever she was.

[Red]

With a loud crunch, the summer serenity was soon dissipated. A small shape rustled the new leaves in one of the taller trees in the forest. Quick mutters and curses sounded from its depths, basically sounding the "Look-at-me-I'm-an-intruder" alert. Then, with wings broken and body limp, a bird fell from the maple's branches. It's short flight was over when it hit the dirt in front of the exploring Arctic fox. It's insides were ripped open, displaying a variety of organs, but the bird was mostly intact.

But the sky was not done delivering animals from the sky. A young fox bounded down from the tallest branches, making her way to the bottom. She barked angrily about the stupid bird and her own clumsiness. As if she predicted her future, three fourths of the way down, she lost her footing and tumbled to meet the birds fate, with a muzzle full of dirt. Even with her small size, she managed to kick up quite a bit of soil. "Oooooh," she moaned. "Gotta... stop.... falling."

Rising painfully to her feet she met the eyes of the Arctic fox, though she fell a bit short. From habit, she tried to rise on her toes to try and seem taller. She only rose about a quarter inch, at most. Still trying to appear larger, she puffed out her wiry fur and stuck out her puny chest. It was a delicate costume. She feared she could not hold it for long, so she aimed at grabbing her food and making a quick exit.

"Um..." she began in a high-pitched voice. A little too high-pitched for her taste. The gray tried to lower it an octave. "Sorry, dropped my bird. Don't mind me. I'm only going to occupy this tree. You can have any of the others. If you go a few paces that-a-way you'll find some good maples. This place is mostly oaks, though. The older ones are not so great for climbing. I saw a few rabbits running west, just in case you were looking for a snack. But hey, your an Arctic. Whatcha doin' in a forest? Sorry, am a rambling? I do that a lot..."

[-Shade)]

Lomasi walked, her feet making no sound as she stepped. Everything was so much bigger then she was. Even for an Arctic Fox she was small. A lot of foxes where at least a little larger then she was. Lomasi had learned to be cautious where ever she may be. You never know what could be out here. So many things could just pop out. Wolves, Coyotes, Bears, even other Foxes. Many others where at least twice her size. They could easily hurt her severly, even kill her maybe. Lomasi liked to live alone, she would maybe hunt, a few birds, maybe a rabbit.

"Oooooh. Gotta... Stop... Falling."

[/s]

Lomasi jumped with a small yelp as the eyes of another fox met hers. Her hind was whirling. What should she do, should she run? No. That would just make her see weak. But, she couldn't stat and fight ether. This fox was bigger then she was, even if the fox was down in the dirt, literally. Lomasis small ears began to go back, as the fox tried to make herself seem bigger. This was only the second time that she had met a fox, since she was away from her family of course. It frightened her, the way the fox acted. Trying to be intimidating. Should she do that to. But, it appeared that the fox wasn't doing a very good job, with trying to act intimindating.

"Sorry, dropped my bird. Don't mind me. I'm only going to occupy this tree. You can have any of the others. If you go a few paces that-a-way you'll find some good maples. This place is mostly oaks, though. The older ones are not so great for climbing. I saw a few rabbits running west, just in case you were looking for a snack. But hey, your an Arctic. Whatcha doin' in a forest? Sorry, am a rambling? I do that a lot..."

Lomasi was having a hard time taking in all of the foxes words. Her tiny ears began to straighten. But she was still eyeing the fox with a causious eye. She was slightly taken aback, by how many words that fox could say at one time. But, Lomasi couldn't be a cowered, she had to at least try and stand up for herself. But, then again, this fox didn't seem to be a threat to her. Lomasi thought that she should start by answering the foxes question first. "Well, the reason why I'm in the forest, is because I, well, I don't really know why I'm here. And, you where rambling."[/color][/blockquote]

[Fireh--]

That crashing noise of Red had alerted the red fox and his ears flicked followed eagerly by his eyes. The other two were smaller species of fox but he didn't know that yet, from the mixture of scents there were two of them. Both female. Again they didn't have that scent of Avantgarde so he wasn't inclined to be completely hostile to them. If they both tried to attack him though he'd be outnumbered and have to flee. Which in this case was not an option given they were on his territory. Marco narrowed his bright yellow eyes in deep thought, to leave them would risk them rampaging all over the place. To fight them would risk his life.

In the end, he made the decision to confront the two. Black paws made swift work of the small cluster of trees and he weaved in and out of them nose to the ground and ears swivelling like satellite dishes. As he came closer to them he could here faint voices and straightened up. Within a few paces he was on the other side of the bushes, both of their voices were high and squeaky which were odd in comparison to his own deeper voice. A deep breath, and he pushed through the shrubbery.

Once again, he was caught off guard at the two species, arctic and grey fox. Interest however, completely turned to Red. Grey foxes were regarded in Marco's eyes and enemies and he had formed an instant distrust of her. Though she was young and probably had vague memories of the illness and probably wasn't even around when his family was taken. But he was stereotypical and that was that. "Heyya." Was all he said and tried to smile even though inside he was conflicted as to whether to be happy at the sight of Lomasi or distressed at the sight of Red.

[Red]

The young grey's ploy failed fast and she returned to her normal height and stature. The small Arctic fox's nervous reaction to her show did not surprise her much, but still, she felt a tad guilty. The young fox would try and hold her tongue this time.

"S'okay, Arctic. No need to shake like a wet leaf. I'll just take my bird and scoot. You can go about your aimless wandering in peace." The gray scooped the dead robin into her paw and by her feet. She gave a large, fox grin and said, "Name's Red, just in case I get the pleasure to see you again. Hope you find what you're looking- " Red stopped talking her bat-ears perked.

A pattern of rustling snaked down a large oak tree not far from there position. Also, Red knew a fox when she heard one, one much larger than the Arctic and Gray. He crept toward the pair and stopped just feet from them, face swirling with emotions. Red stared at him the entire time and did not flinch when he purred, "Heyya." The male was at least 25% larger than either females, but his stance told nothing but friendly intentions. Although, his eyes said otherwise. For a moment they shot to Red, as if blaming her for something. She was trespassing and stealing his food. Well, she assumed this was his land from the looks of it. No large red fox just wanders through a great territory like this without claiming it.

Red whispered in the Arctic's ear, low enough so that the male (hopefully) could not hear. "Ya know, how about we stick around a little longer. We small fox have to stick together. Plus, I don't think he's a fan of grays." Then she faced the red with stoic, brown eyes, almost unreadable. "This your place, big guy? Excuse the intrusion; me and my pal here were just passing through. Our uncle lives a mile or two away. We'll be in and out, promise." Red's eyes betrayed her as her stomach tightened and she looked to the bird. "Well, that was just a quick snack. We girls gotta eat, ya know?"

[-Shade)]

Lomasi was relieved to see, that when Red seemed to relax and go to her normal bight, that she wasn't all that bigger then she had thought, or then she was. Red seemed like a nice fox, not one that would at all harm her at least. That was really all that Lomasi was worried about at the moment.

"S'okay, Arctic. No need to shake like a wet leaf. I'll just take my bird and scoot. You can go about your aimless wandering in peace."

[/s]

Lomasi nodded, she didn't really want Red to go, but, then again, if Lomasi was alone, she could easily flee, withought needing to worry if Red was going to catch up again, as the grey fix scooped up her robin, Lomasi just waited to see when she would take of in the other direction.

"Name's Red, just in case I get the pleasure to see you again. Hope you find what you're looking- "[/s]

Just as Red was in the middle of talking, they each froze. Lomasi's ears shot up as she stood her eyes looking around cautiously. Each of them had heard something, Lomasi was sure of it, but what, what had each of them heard to make there ears stand up and each freeze. Lomasi could feel the thick fur along her spine begin to stand straight on end. Her tail was beginning to flick back and forth as she waited for something to jump out from the vast number of oak trees that surrounded them.

Lomasi's eyes wondered to a russtle between trees. It was a fox. Lomasi knew what they sounded like. This fox was defiantly larger then each of them where. Lomasi tried to have the fur along her spine to lay down flat, but with no luck. All it did was stand up even higher. Then, she saw him, he was a large red fox. Lomasi swallowed, he was 25% larger then Red was, but twice the size of Lomasi. He didn't seem as though he would cause her harm, but Lomasi was still on her tiny toes, ready to bolt on short notice.

"Heyya,"[/s]

His voice seemed kind and nice. But, it didn't change that Lomasi was up on her toes ready to make a run for it any time she felt the need to. The way he eyed Red made Lomasi feel uncomfortable. What was it about Red that got under the Red Foxes skin. She wasn't any harm, was she? No, Red had been nice to Lomasi, maybe it was just that she was a grey fox. He didn't seem bugged by the fact that Lomasi was there, then again, how threatening could Lomasi really look standing there.

"Ya know, how about we stick around a little longer. We small fox have to stick together. Plus, I don't think he's a fan of grays."[/s]

Lomasi almost laughed at how Red said that. How could that red fox have a problem with her. Lomasi liked her just fine. Red was the closest thing to a friend Lomasi ever came to having.

"This your place, big guy? Excuse the intrusion; me and my pal here were just passing through. Our uncle lives a mile or two away. We'll be in and out, promise."[/s]

Know, this really did get a small laugh out of Lomasi. Once it came out, she clamped her mouth shut quickly, though inside she was cracking up. Red didn't even know Lomasis name, but she was saying that their uncle was down a ways. She couldn't keep herself from smiling.

"Well, that was just a quick snack. We girls gotta eat, ya know?"

Lomasi just nodded at this coment. Her smile whent to one side as she nodded. Lomasi was really starting to like Red, she couldn't believe that anyone could ever have any problems with her. [/blockquote]

[Fireh--]

Both of them seemed surprise at his entrance and he listened to Red with one ear swivelled forwards. When she leaned down to become inaudible to him, he frowned in distrust but she straightened after that and addressed him. "Yes, I do believe this is my territory you have stumbled across." When she mentioned hunting he didn't say anything. "An odd pair to go walk-abouts wouldn't you agree?"

Curling his mottled tail under him he sat down. "Especially when you share an uncle." Although he'd heard of hybrids in myths and legends it didn't seem likely. These two looked less related than a bird and a snake. No nastiness or hostility entered his tone, it was light and joking and he saw the dead bird on the ground. His own stomach tightened. Not that he really cared if she ate the birds, he himself couldn't hunt them so why not let her? Lomasi just seemed to laugh and smile at the grey fox's comments and chose to say nothing. Still he watched Red closely taking in her whole appearance.

[Red]

Red's mouth twitched as she caught a snippet of the Arctic fox's giggle. Fortunately, the small fox remained quiet otherwise, letting Red take the lead. Desperately, the gray wanted to know what her quick companion's name was. She hoped the male fox would ask soon. Resuming her role play as the Arctic's traveling partner, Red began again.

"See, I knew someone lived here. Didn't I tell you?" she directed at the Arctic. Quickly, she snapped back to the red fox, trying to keep herself limited on interaction between her and the white vulpine. She didn't want the territory owner to see through her well-fabricated lie. Instead she explained her "situation". "Yeah, I know. Foxes ask that all the time. But, we've been pals ever since I could open my eyes. Well, we're not sisters. Or even half-sisters. Don't ask, a long, embarrassing story between her and my dad. Unless you can spare a millennia to listen to it." She paused to let out a faint laugh, as if recalling a real memory.

"And then, there's our Uncle Phil. Well, he's not really our uncle. Actually, he's a badger. That is another long story, too. Wow, our lives our made up of long stories. And only one year on the earth, eh?" For a heartbeat, Red realized her mistake. She hardly had a clue how old the Arctic fox was. She guessed no more than two, but it was hard to tell on someone who wasn't in your species. Oh well, there was always the hope that luck was on their side. Before she could make any other slips, Red volleyed the interview to the larger fox. "So, what are you doing out here by yourself? This is a pretty big place for a bachelor."

Red internally slapped herself for the lame return of conversation. She nervously eyed her new buddy, warning her for the rebound of questioning. The red fox might want to hear the story from the smaller fox's point of view.

[-Shade)]

"Yes, I do believe this is my territory you have stumbled across. An odd pair to go walk-abouts wouldn't you agree?"

At the Red Foxes comment, Lomasi just shrugged. An Arctic and Grey Fox probably wouldn't normally be the best of pals. But, they were not really, though, it was probably not unheard of. She chose to let Red take the lead until she was needed. Red seemed to be doing a very good job by herself. But, maybe Lomasi would be needed if Red can't think of anything else to say to keep the Red Foxes attention. 

"See, I knew someone lived here. Didn't I tell you?"[/I]

Lomasi gave a small side not and an airy sigh. "You did," she muttered quietly. She was just going to play along with what Red was saying. Everyone and a while giving a small side comment, but most of the time staying quiet and not saying much, but nodding and just playing along with what Red was saying and telling the new Fox about why they where tracking partners. 

"Yeah, I know. Foxes ask that all the time. But, we've been pals ever since I could open my eyes. Well, we're not sisters. Or even half-sisters. Don't ask, a long, embarrassing story between her and my dad. Unless you can spare a millennia to listen to it."

Lomasi gave a small airy chuckle as if she as well was remembering the memory. Red was doing an amazing job at trying to sell it. Then again, that was really what she needed. Lomasi wasn't sure why Red was making up this story, but she was. Lomasi wasn't going to question it, just go along. 

"And then, there's our Uncle Phil. Well, he's not really our uncle. Actually, he's a badger. That is another long story, too. Wow, our lives our made up of long stories. And only one year on the earth, eh?"

Lomasi gave another airy chuckle. Then realized that Red had a problem. She had said Lomasi was a year old. Really, she was two, but, she was small, and looked a lot younger then she was, so, she could pass as one years old. So, she didn't bother with it. But, Red looked like she probably was. 

"So, what are you doing out here by yourself? This is a pretty big place for a bachelor."[/s]

Lomasi saw that Red looked pretty stupid. Time for Lomasi to step in and save the day. "Well, first of, you will probably want to know our names, that is a given, well, I'm Lomasi, and my friend here," she paused to gesture to Red for a second. "Is Red. We don't really need to get into all the details of our lives. Trust me, way to complicated. So, what about you? Don't think one fox would need all this Territory, know do you?" Lomasi though that she did a pretty good job with that, but hoped that it was enough. At least she had said her name, that would help Red out a lot when sleeping with her, Lomasi was glad she had been able to get Reds name before the new fox had shown up. 

[Fireh--]

It became too much to absorb and Marco Polo blinked a few times as the young grey fox sped onwards. "Woh slow down!" Although he caught most of it and tried to compute it. They were just passing through but they should've scented his markers. 'Note to self, make scent markers more obvious' with this in mind he listened closely to the grey fox, lots of questions to avoid questions. Not that he really cared for where they came from and what not, she had started it after all. Soon their attention fell to him and he smiled. It was interesting for them to ask why he was here, not who he was. "It is the territory of the skulk, the Delmares, unfortunately it has yet to reach its full size."

Hopefully that would answer their question and they could be on their way, or stay, or whatever. This whole situation was stupid. "Are you planning on leaving or??"

ooc; I have no muse :C

[Red]

Red's muzzle grew a sly grin as Lomasi took over the talking. She was also glad to learn the white fox's name. Lomasi. Definitely an interesting one. The game was evolving brilliantly, like the two of them were in sync, as if they were partners in crime. Red wondered if they would ever have the chance to do this again. Really, it was a blast for the gray fox. She almost felt bad for the Big Guy, caught in a lie created for emergency self-defense, but he meant no harm. In fact, he seemed like a nice character himself. If he was not the leader of the skulk named the Delmares, Red would want him to join in on her and Lomasi's practical joking.

The gray fox laughed when the male couldn't keep up with her chatter. Normally, no one could anyway, but she still got a kick out of overloading fox's minds. "Sorry, pal. I get a little carried away sometimes." Then, he explained his name and rank. He was probably still trying to take in the strangeness of the situation. Two tiny females claiming to have a badger for an uncle. Red was sure her mind would overload if she heard such a story.

But what really surprised her was Big Guy's offer. It was obvious from his awkward question that he wanted to stay in the female's company for quite a bit longer. In fact, it sounded like an attempt to get them to join his clan. Red was astonished; whenever her father was approached by a sulking loner, they were immediately driven away. It was a foreign concept to the young fox of the recruitment of trespassers. For a moment, the gray fox sat stunned, unsure how to respond.

Finally, she came out with a stuttering reply, "Umm...Mr. Delmares, are you asking us to join you just like that? For all you know, we're a pair of lousy hunters, rubbish fighters, and will hog all the spoils. In fact, most of that statement's true about myself. I don't know about Lomasi here, but --" Red caught herself. Remember, she told herself. Lomasi's your "childhood friend." Treat her as such. "But, she's pretty bad at hunting. Anyone'd see her coming miles away with that pelt." Red gave the Arctic fox a sly grin. "No offense," she said sarcastically.

Focusing back on Mr. Delmares, she asked him, "Are you really lonely or something? Sorry, I'm being rude. It's just we're not used to being on someone else's land and being asked to join. Never had it happen to us before, sir."

The young fox did not want to make the call on whether to stay or not. Honestly, she wanted to stay a loner at least for a little while longer. Her previous pack experience was...well, not the best. She like being able to call her own shots and rely on her own strengths, while improving her weaknesses. Even though Mr. Delmares sounded like a nice fellow, she would rather call him an ally that a pack mate. But, she was not sure of Lomasi's intentions. Was she a clan girl? Red gave her a quick glance, letting her know that she could accept if she wanted.